Simon Schötz

The first time I encountered a terminal was in the PC game Enter the Matrix in 2004. I was 15 and had just as much fun hacking around in this secondary part of the game, where one could unlock additional content, as I had with the actual 3D action shooter that sold me the game in the first place. Growing up in the Bavarian outback, I had no other contact with coding beyond that. It wasn't until 15 years later that I picked it up again after seeing a commercial for the DCI Web Development program in a Berlin subway in 2019.

One year later, together with two other students, I successfully led the development and launch of my first full-stack project. Shortly after, I joined Digital H, a promising startup that financed its early growth by offering services as an agency. It was the perfect place to deepen my skills and witness a young company evolving quickly. Here, I honed my technical abilities and increasingly specialized in frontend work, mainly because I was the only one on the team who didn't mind it. I still don't have a strong preference today, but since I have more experience in this area, I naturally gravitate toward it.

Beyond coding, I sharpened my leadership skills. I became a Scrum Master and integrated agile methodologies into our workflows as the team expanded. For a small in-house project, I even swapped roles with my boss and took on the project manager role while he wrote the code.

In mid-2024, I got the chance to co-found a female health impact startup through the Berliner Startup Stipendium. As tech lead, I laid the technical foundation for the platform, established agile workflows, and mentored my first junior developer.

Currently, I'm leveling up. I'm pursuing Product Owner certification to formalize the leadership experience I've been building over the years, while sharpening my technical edge through AI expert training. Moving forward,I want to leverage my whole array of skills, not just the technical ones, and make informed decisions about where technology can create real impact.

2014 was one of the most fateful years in my life, when I had an accident at home while helping my grandparents prepare firewood for the winter. I lost parts of my right thumb and index finger when I got caught in the machine. The silver lining: I received a substantial insurance payout, which I immediately knew I wanted to invest in my education.

After some consideration, I made the bold decision to leave my career in the car industry and pursue my true passion, music production, after seeing a commercial for Deutsche POP in a Munich subway. (The careful reader might see a pattern here 😉.) It wasn't a completely random choice since I come from a family of musicians. I had played piano for ten years and trombone for three, but my heart has always been in electronic music that challenges conventional concepts and listening habits.

I had no real idea what I was getting myself into, but the following two and a half years turned my life upside down. Beyond learning the technical side of audio production, I developed skills that deeply shaped who I am today. The most important ones were learning how to give and receive sensitive, constructive feedback and how to navigate conflicting expectations in a collaborative process. Every musician pours their heart into their performance and wants to be heard above the rest. Every commercial client wants the loudest soundtrack to cut through the noise of competing ads, even when it compromises quality. A sound engineer's work is not only about achieving sonic balance within the physical constraints of a digitally or analog-mapped sound wave. It's a social process where empathy and clear decision-making are just as important as technical precision.

The final year of my studies focused heavily on scientific research. It was a self-driven process, guided only by high-level expectations from the University of West London. That year taught me how to hold myself accountable and work independently—a skill I've carried into every role since.

Because I didn't have to work to support myself financially during this time, I had the space to read, reflect, and become more politically aware. That experience continues to shape my thinking today and informs the types of projects I choose to be part of.

So while I wouldn't recommend losing fingers for career growth—because, you know, it hurts—I see that accident as a blessing in disguise now. These days, I pursue music in a semi-professional way. My heart beats for the underground, where there's no money to be made, and I want to keep it that way. I had a good run as a music producer before the pandemic hit, and now, my only ambition is to keep the passion alive and have fun with it.

A closed chapter, but an important one with lessons that were sometimes painfully earned. My career in the automotive world began with an apprenticeship in a small-town workshop in 2007. It was a harsh environment, led by a choleric boss who thrived on breaking down his younger employees. I saw no alternative at the time, so I pushed through and finished my training. I didn't know what I wanted, but I knew I wanted more and needed to aim higher.

That drive led me to pursue the Kfz-Meister, a higher qualification that required additional experience in the field. I pressed on, and a year later, I was accepted into the program. I loved the academic part, but something shifted when I realized that a large part of the theoretical exam focused on outdated technology. This path wasn't for me long-term. I wanted more than standing in a workshop and repairing cars. I wanted to grow, expand, and move beyond the limits I had been working within. So I left my rural hometown and moved to Munich.

There, I joined Bertrandt, a large engineering services company. My work placed me on-site at BMW, first in cutting-edge workshop environments, and later, after a hand injury, as part of their elite test-driving team. I thrived in this role: traveling across Europe, coordinating with international engineering teams, and earning the trust of BMW engineers, who recognized my reliability and thoroughness. It was my first true leadership experience outside of school, and it showed me what I was capable of.

Despite the progress, I still didn't feel like I truly belonged. The male-dominated culture and lack of long-term recognition made me question my future in the industry. I knew I had more to give and that I needed a new direction. Leaving was difficult, but without a doubt, it was the best decision of my life.

The resilience, precision, and people skills I developed during those years still shape how I work today. And with time to reflect, I came to understand what had held me back from thriving in that environment: it lacked the space for the values I now hold central. That realization laid the foundation for discovering my core principles, which are now at the heart of everything I do. Only when I work in alignment with them can I truly grow.